Battle of Nockmaar
The battle of Nockmaar occurred 1342 years after the Nelwyn Arrival Day, when the Army of Nockmaar and the Tir Asleen rebels clashed around Queen Bavmorda's castle in Nockmaar. The rebels were accompanied by the Nelwyn farmer and trainee sorcerer Willow Ufgood, the disgraced warrior Madmartigan, Bavmorda's own daughter Sorsha, the brownies Rool and Franjean, and Fin Raziel, a enchantress turned into an animal. Initially, the battle nearly did not happen, as Bavmorda turned all of the rebels into pigs. However, Willow Ufgood had protected himself from the evil queen's spell. Unable to return his party to human form again, Ufgood turned to Fin Raziel. Thanks to the powerful wand of Cherlindrea, Ufgood gave Raziel her original form back, and the good enchantress then broke the pig spell on all the others. Although they had reverted to their true forms, all despaired, as Nockmaar Castle seemed impenetrable. Ufgood then suggested using a clever farming tactic that would allow the group to trick their way into the castle and lay siege to it. Once the enemies of Bavmorda were inside the walls of Nockmaar, the battle began. Airk Thaughbaer was killed by Kael, Bavmorda's general. As Madmartigan went after the enemy general for vengeance, Sorsha led Willow and Raziel to the conjuring room where they interrupted Bavmorda's Ritual of Obliteration. The evil queen and Raziel had a magical duel, during which Bavmorda got the upper hand, with Raziel being pinned down and unable to fight. Willow Ufgood was now forced to face the queen alone. To his horror, his magic acorns failed to turn Bavmorda into stone like they were supposed to. Contemptuous, Bavmorda ordered Ufgood to bring the child to her. However, the Nelwyn had a stroke of genius; using a "Disappearing Pig Trick" he had performed earlier, he tricked Bavmorda into thinking that Elora was sent someplace safe from her reach. Outraged, the evil queen accidentally called the ritual down on herself, banishing her own soul into oblivion. Prelude Some 1342 years after the Nelwyn Arrival Day, the farmer and trainee magician Willow Ufgood set off on a quest to help baby Elora Danan dethrone Bavmorda, the Demon Queen of Nockmaar. During his travels, Ufgood managed to make worthy allies, from the disgraced warrior Madmartigan and the surviving Knights of Galladoorn to Princess Sorsha, Bavmorda's own daughter, and Fin Raziel, a well-meaning enchantress who had been turned into an animal. Although the new band of rebels managed to retake the frozen castle of Tir Asleen, Elora Danan was abducted by General Kael of the Army of Nockmaar, who brought her to Bavmorda. As the queen intended to use a Ritual of Obliteration to annihilate the very essence of Danan, it became necessary for the rebels to rescue her immediately. Upon reaching the Nockmaar Valley, the Tir Asleen rebels made camp at the foot of Bavmorda's castle in the middle of the night. Feeling a terrible presence, they lookrf up at the castle wall, and they spotted Bavmorda herself, leering down at them. Unimpressed by the rebel's army, the queen used a powerful spell that turned all of those men into pigs. Willow Ufgood, however, had used a shelter chant that allowed him to keep his true form. On his own, Ufgood was unable to transform all the rebels again. Nonetheless, he managed to return Fin Raziel to human form again, and she took care of the rest.Willow The battle Thanks to Fin Raziel's ward protecting their camp, Bavmorda would not be able to transform her enemies again. The enchantress, however, could not use her magic to get everyone beyond the walls of Nockmaar. Thinking of the gophers that pestered him back at his village, Ufgood devised a new plan. At his suggestion, the alliance dug many pits and trenches just beyond arrow-shot from the castle. The warriors then hid in those holes, and their hiding places got covered with flattened tents, broken wagons an discarded shields, making it look like that Bavmorda's enemies had left the battlefield. At dawn, Ufgood and Raziel approached the castle wall and started taunting the minions of Nockmaar. General Kael, who had climbed up to the battlements to savor his victory, laughed at the seemingly unsignificant menace, ordering his soldiers to go and eliminate the two enemies waiting at the foot of the castle. Nockmaar's drawbridge fell across the moat, allowing five horsemen to ride out of the fortress. Ufgood then started striking his drum, giving a signal to his hidden comrades. Immediately, tents and shields flew away, and mounted warriors led by Madmartigan lunged out of the pits and trenches, charging with one surging cry. The surprise was so complete that General Kael did not have the time to order the shutting of the drawbridge. In an instant, Thaughbaer's men were inside the Nockmaar courtyard, and the five assassins who had come out to kill Raziel and Willow had been slain in their wake. Thaughbaer scooped Ufgood up on his horse, and Sorsha scooped Raziel up on hers. As the minions of Nockmaar ran out to defend the castle, Madmartigan led the assault. Sorsha slipped Raziel off her horse at the foot of a broad staircase and then dismounted herself, sending Rak away from the fighting. Thaughbaer also set his passenger down. Sorsha then led Ufgood and Raziel into the castle, hoping to reach the conjuring room in time to stop the ritual. At first, only Sorsha and Raziel entered the conjuring room, leaving their Nelwyn companion in the hallway. Sorsha was the first to openly confront her mother, killing her druids without a sweat. However, the princess was no match for the magical powers of Bavmorda, who lifted Sorsha and levitated her across the room, driving her toward a wall of spikes. Raziel, however, managed to stop the demon queen from impaling her daughter. With her daughter incapcitated, Bavmorda turned her attention toward Raziel only. The two sorceresses then started opposing each other, circling the altar. As their duel became increasingly violent, Willow Ufgood discreetly entered the conjuring room, trying to make a dash for the baby. The enchantresses came to blows, fighting for Cherlindrea's wand. After defeating a small metallic table that had been brought to life by a stray bolt of magic, Ufgood grabbed Elora Danan from the witch queen's crucible. Outside, the battle raged on as General Kael, now part of the melee, duelled Airk Thaughbaer. Although the Knight of Galladoorn fought bravely under Kale's savage attack, he ended up losing both balance and his life. Kael mercilessly impaled Taughbaer on his sword before kicking him away into the mud. Madmartigan, having seen that last act, ran to his old friend just in time to hear his last words. The disgraced knight, deeply upset by Tahughbaer's demise, then fought his way towrad the enemy general, ready to get revenge. Although he started the fight with a disadvantage, Madmartigan managed to hit Kael in the face, cornering him against a wall. However, upon hearing a cry in the conjuring room, he left Kael there, hurrying toward the top of the tower. But the general followed him, bringing their duel on the wall outside the Queen's Tower. The two engaged in a spectacular swordfight. Finally, Madmartigan managed to stab Kael twice, once with a dagger and once with the general's own sword. The Nockmaar general screeched, then fell through the air to land in the mud below. In the conjuring room, the duel was coming to an end as Bavmorda used her nails to rake Raziel's face, then successfully pinned her down on the ground, and strangled her to unconsciousness. Upon turning toward the crucible, the witch queen noticed that Elora Danan had gone. As Willow Ufgood raced toward the door with the baby, Bavmorda suddenly slammed the door shut with her magic. She then ordered the Nelwyn to hand her the child over, which he refused, invoking his great powers. In an atempt to neutralize the queen, Ufgood threw one of his magic acorns at her, thinking it would turn her into stone as it was meant to. Bavmorda, however, was strong enough to defeat the acorn's effect and pulverize it. Against all odds, Ufgood had a stroke of genius that helped him defeat Bavmorda. Using the disappearing pig stage magic trick he perfomed before, he made it look like that he had sent Elora Danan into a realm where evil could not touch her. Taken aback by this seemingly magical act she could not explain, Bavmorda flew into a rage, lungeing across the copper altar and accidentally launching the Rite of Obliteration upon herself. Thee lightning struck the queen, who dissolved into nothing with a cry of horror and fury. At that very moment, Madmartigan entered the room, and was reunited with Ufgood, Raziel, Sorsha and Elora Danan. The battle of Nockmaar was over. Behind the scenes The battle of Nockmaar, which forms the climax of the 1988 movie Willow, required more than 400 extras, 150 horses, and 200 pigs.[http://lucasfilm.com/willow Willow] on LucasFilm.com Appearances *''Willow'' *''Willow: A Novel'' *''Willow'' NES video game *''Shadow Moon'' Sources *''The Willow Sourcebook'' Notes and references Category:Battles